Sawmill set-works.



PATENTEVD JAN, 28, 190s.

N. E. RICE.

SAW'MILL SET WORKS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.10. 1905.

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No. 877,662. PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

N. E. RICE. Y

SAWMILL SET WORKS. f

APPLICATION FILED FEB.10. 1905. A

4.SHBETS- SHEET 3.

10.877,662. PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

N. E. RICE. v

SAW MILL SET WORKS.

.@.PPLIGATION FILED FEB. 10. 1905. z

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1H: miams PETERS ca., WASHINGTUN, n. c.

NORMAN EARL RICE, OF ZENIA, CALIFORNIA.

SAWMILL SET-WORKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1908.

Application filed February l0. 1905. Serial No. 245.045.

owing is a full, clear, and exact description.

The principal object of my invention is to p rovide improved means forenabling the Sawyer or person controlling the movement of the carriagein a saw mill also to control the set works in such a way that theSawyer may, without the assistance of another person, set the knees sothat the mill will make a cut of any desired thickness, To this end Iemploy a peculiar adjustable mechanism for advancing the knees anydesired extent, which is combined withA an operating device andindicator located in such a position that it may be readily actuated bythe Sawyer without interfering with his other duties.

The invention involves various other features of major or minorimportance, and all will be set .forth hereinafter and pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate asan example the preferred embodiment of my invention, in which drawingslike characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views,and in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing part of the saw millcarriage, and illustrating two head blocks with means for adjusting andcontrolling the same; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the devices shown inFig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same, Fig. 4 is a sectionalelevation on the line 4 4 of Fig. l g Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail viewof the operating wheel and indicator; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the sameFig. 7 is a detail section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5 5 Fig. 8 is asectional elevation on the line 88 of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a plan view ofone of the sections of the members of the sectional setting rack; Fig.10 is a side view of said member; Fig. 1 1 is an elevational viewshowing the ratchet and pawl, and the yoke for operating the set shaft gFig. 12 is a fragmentary side elevation of these parts, also showing thebeveled disk or collar for throwing the ratchets out of action.

As shown best in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 8, the bed 15 on which the mill iserected carries tracks 16 and 17 on which run the wheels v18 and 19 ofthe carriage. The track 17 is preferably V-shaped, as shown, and thewheels v lgears 27 attached to the set shaft 28.

1.9 running on this track have correspondingly formed treads to hold thecarriage in position. Said wheels 18 and 19 are mounted on axles 2Owhich run in boxes 2l attached to the sills 22 of the carriage. Thesills 22 support the transverse guides 23 in which the knees 24 aremounted to slide, all of which is usual, as will be understood from theprior art. Mounted on the carriage and one for each guide 23, is arotating screw 25. These screws have bevel gears 26 attached thereto andare in mesh with corresponding set shaft 28 is mounted to turn on thecar riage and extends longitudinally thereof. The screws have threadedengagement with their respective knees so that upon rotating the screwsthe knees will be advanced or retracted, as desired.

Mounted loosely on the shaft 28 is a sleeve 29 which carries a spur gear30 in mesh with a rack 31. This rack slides transversely of the shaft28, and is suitably mounted in a part of the carriage. Projecting fromthe under side of the rack 31 is a bracket 32 carrying a roller 33 (seeFig. 8). the medium of this roller 33, as will hereinafter fully appear,the rack 3l is caused to slide in its bearing, and in this mannerrotating movement is imparted to the sleeve 29. The sleeve 29 carriesayoke 34, and this yoke is provided with pawls 35 which coact with aratchet wheel 36 keyed to the shaft 28. When, therefore, the sleeve 29is turned in one direction it rotates the shaft 28, through the mediumof the parts 34, 35 and 36, but when the sleeve is turned in the oposite direction the pawls run idly over t e face of the ratchet. Thepawls 35 may be rendered inactive and the sleeve 29 and its connectionsthrown out of action whenever desired by means of the tapering disk orcollar 37 which is loosely mounted on the shaft 28 adjacent to theratchet 36 and connected to a hand lever 38. 39 indicates a latch barfor holding the hand lever in the desired position. By throwing the taering disk 37 into engagement with the paw s 35 said pawls Iare movedoutward and disconnected from the ratchet so that the rotation of thesleeve 29 does not affect the shaft 28, and conversely so that the shaftmay be turned at will without interfering with the mobility orimmobility of the sleeve.

Mounted on a suitable support 40, itself sustained on the bed 15, is atrack formed of The.

two opposing guide members 41. Said guide members 41 parallel eachother, and as shown best in Fig. 1 extend parallel with the track 17 fora certain part of the length of the guide members, and then the guidemembers turn and extend diagonally away from the line of said track 17and conse uently away from the line of movement of t e saw millcarriage. Extending parallel with the diagonal portions of the guidemembers 41, and at one side thereof, is a wall or flange 42. The trackformed by the guide members 41 serves to carry the setting rack which isformed of a number of sections 43, best shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Saidsections 43 are .in the form of blocks having fianges 44 running in theguides 41, and having rack teeth 45 formed on their under surfaces. Pins46 project from the upper sides of the lblocks 43, and said pins areconnected by links 47 which join the several blocks into a chain-likestructure, the blocksfitting snugly together so that their lowersurfaces form a continuous rack. The blocks project above the guides 41alongside of the flange or wall 42, `and they form a fiange or walllying opposite the wall or ange 42. It will be observed that thissetting rack or wall formed :of the blocks 43 may be adjusted in thetrack provided by the guides 41, so that the left and end of the settingrack (referring to Fig. 1) may be made to occupy any desired lpositionalong the inclined or diagonal part of the track 41.

`The before described roller 33 coacts with the flange 42 and thesetting rack 43, as shown in Fig. 8, the roller running between theseparts, and on the re-setting movement of the carriage said rollerengages the setting rack which serves to move the roller and to push therack 31 outward, and on the return or cutting movement the rollerengages the lliange or wall 42 which thereby returns the roller and rack41 to their former position. The setting rack or flange is adjusted asshown best in Fig. 2 by means of a spur gear 48 meshed with the teeth 45and suitably mounted under the track 41. Said spur gear 48 is drivenfrom a pinion 49 located below 4the bed 15 and attached to a shaft 5()which extends transversely under the carriage to a point adjacent to the-sawyers station. At this point the shaft 50 terminates. gear 51 issecured to this 'end of the shaft, and this .gear is in mesh with acorresponding gear 52 attached to a vertical shaft 53 which rises fromthe bed and is supported on a suitable pedestal 54. The upper end of theshaft 53 is connected by gears 55 and 56 with a shaft 57 mountedhorizontally in the upper extremity of said pedestal. This shaft has ahand wheel 58 attached thereto by means of which the shaft may b eturned imparting rotary movement to the shaft 53, and from said shaft tothe shaft 50 and gear 48 so as A bevel to move the setting rack to anydesired position on its guidin'g track.

59 indicates an indicator or pointer which is attached to the pedestal54 and projects in proximity to the .periphery of the wheel 58, and bysuitably numbering the periphery of the wheel as shown in Fig. 5, theexact extent to which the wheel is turned may always be noted. The shaft57` carries a screw 60 around which a box `61 is arranged. The screwturns with the shaft and the box is secured in the pedestal. (see Fig.7) engages the screw 60, and said nut section 62 has a pointer 63attached thereto. This pointer runs in a slot 64 in .the box 61, and asshown best in Fig. 6 the A section 62 of a nut box is provided withgraduations, with which the pointer 63 coacts. The parts are soproportioned that the graduations in the box 61 read in connection withthe pointer 63 will indicate the exact width of the out towhich thecarriage is adjusted. The Sawyer, therefore, after the cut has been madeand when he desires to change the thickness ofthe cut, should operatethe wheel 58, noting the position of `the wheel and the position of thepointer 63 so as to secure the correct adjustment. This operation of thehand wheel 58 causes the setting rack to be shifted along the guidetrack 41 to a position which corresponds to the extent to which the handwheel has been moved. The further outward the setting rack is moved inthe diagonal portion of the guide members 41, the longer will the roller33 be engaged with the setting rack upon the receding movement of thecarriage, and consequently the greater willv be the movement imparted tothe sliding rack 31. This movement imparted to the rack 31 causes thesleeve 29 to be rotated, and from said sleeve rotary movement isimparted to the set shaft 28 causing the screws 25 to be operated andadvancing the knees proportionate to the action of the sawyer by theoperation of the hand wheel 58. Upon the return movement of thecarriage, the roller 33 strikes the flange or wall 42 and the rack 31 isreturned to its first position. This return movement does not, however,affect the set shaft owing to the ratchet'36 and pawls 35 which allowfree idle movement'ofr the sleeve 29 upon the return movement of thecarriage. Upon the next receding movement of the carriage, the abovedescribed operation will be repeated and the knees advanced to the sameextent as before, provided no change is made by the sawyer in theposition of the wheel 58. The sawyer may, however, readily and at willincrease or diminish the thickness of the cut by the forward or backwardmovement of the hand wheel.

-As shown best in Fig. 4, one of the car- -riage wheels 19 may beprovided with a fricfriction wheel 65. Said wheel is attached to a shaft66 which is mounted at its inner end in an eccentric 67 and at its outerend in a yoke 68 which is allowed a slight rocking movement around theshaft 28. The eccen- Y tric 67 is provided with a handle 69 facilitatingthe operation of the eccentric, and by this means the friction wheel maybe engaged with or disengaged from the friction surface 19rl of thewheel 19. The shaft 66 is connected with the set shaft 2S by means ofbevel gears and 7l.. These devices furnish a means for adjusting theknees either forward or backward, as desired, and to effectthis thetapered or cone-shaped disk 37 should be operated to render the pawls 35inactive, and the eccentric 67 should be operated to throw the frictionwheel 65 into engagement. Then as the carriage is moved in one directionor the other rotary movement is imparted to the set shaft 28, and fromthe set shaft the knees operating screw and cone sequently the headblocks, may be operated to move the knees into any position desired.During the ordinary operation of the saw mill the eccentric 67 is soadjusted as lto disengage the friction wheel 65 from the frictionsurface 19u.

It will be' observed that this invention not only allows the sawyerquickly and easily to adjust the thickness of the cut but it dispenseswith at least one man, who according to the practice now commonlyfollowed is employed to operate the set works, and who works underinstructions from the sawyer. The device is entirely automatic exceptfor the adjustment of the hand wheel 58, and as long as the thickness ofthe cut is not to be changed no movement on the part of the Sawyer isrequired.

Having thus described the preferred form of my invention, what I' claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.'l`he combination of a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of means on the carriage for adjusting the knee, a guidemounted independently of the carriage and disposed diagonally to theline of movement thereof, and a setting rack carried by the guide andadjustable along the same, said setting rack serving to actuate the saidmeans for adjusting the knee.

2. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of means on the carriage for adjusting the knee, a guide havinga turn therein, the guide being mounted independently of the carriage,and a setting` rack comprising a number of articulated sections inslidable engagement with the guide and adapted to actuate said means foradjusting the knee.

3. rllhe combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of means on the carriage for adjusting the knee, a guide havinga turn therein, the guide being mounted independently of the carriage, asetting rack comprising a number of articulated sections in slidableengagement with the guide and adapted to actuate the said means foradjusting the knee, and a gear for actuating the said setting rack, thesections of such setting rack having teeth thereon engaged by the teethof the gear.

4. rlhe combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a part in connection withthe knee to move the same, a guidemounted independently of ythe carriage and having a turn therein, and asetting rack composed of a number of articulated sections in slidableengagement with the guide, said setting rack being adapted to b eengaged by said part having connection with the knee, for the purposespecified.

5. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a part in connection with the knee to move the same, a guidemounted independently of the carriage and having aVA turn therein, and asetting rack composed of a number of articulated sections in slidingengagement with the guide, said setting rack being adapted to be engagedby said part having connection with the knee, for the purpose specified,the sections of said setting rack having gear teeth thereon, and anoperating gear meshed with the teeth to permit the adjustment of thesaid setting rack.

6. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a 100 part having connection with the knee to move the same,a guide having a turn therein, and a setting rack mounted to slide inthe guide and composed of a number of blocks or sections with linksarticulating them to 105 each other, said setting rack being adapted tobe engaged by the said part in connection with the knee, for the purposespecified.

7. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a 110 part having connection with the knee to actuate thesame, a guide mounted inde- .pendently of the carriage and having a turntherein, a setting rack slidable in the guide and composed of a numberof sections with links pivotally connecting them, the links beinglocated at the upper sides of the sections, and the lower sides of thesections being provided with teeth, said setting rack being arranged tobe engaged by said part 12o in connection with the knee, for the purposespecified, and an operating gear meshed with the teeth of the saidsections to permit adjustment thereof.

8. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a part having connection with the knee to move the same, awall mounted independently of the carriage and extending diagonally tothe line of movement thereof, a guide extending `parallel with the wall,and a setting rack adjustable in the guide, said part 4connected withthe knee being arranged to turn between the setting rack and Wall, for

lthe purpose specified.

9. The combination with a saw mill carriage and a knee adjustablethereon, of a -wall mounted independently of the carriage number `ofarticulated sections adjustable along the guide., the said ypart `inconnection with the knee being arranged yto run between 15 the settingrack and llange, for the y.purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I `have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

v NORMAN EAR-L RICE` Witnesses: Y

VICTOR HOPE, E. M. DURNFORD.

